Karl-Anthony Towns Believes The NBA Should Legalize Marijuana

One of the items on the NBA’s banned substance list is marijuana, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns thinks the league should make it legal.

Talking about weed in America creates an interesting dialogue. Some are with it being legal. Others only want it legal for medical purposes. There’s also a group that thinks it should remain illegal, and the NBA falls into that crowd. Recently, however, former commissioner David Stern said the league should rethink their policy, and Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns echoed those sentiments.

“I agree with David Stern with marijuana,” said the 22-year-old to ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “You don’t have to actually make it ‘Mary J’ (or) ‘Half Baked. You don’t have to do it like that, but you could use the (chemical) properties in it to make a lot of people better. That’s something that Adam Silver has to do, that’s out of my control, but maybe legalizing marijuana.

“Not fully legal where people are chimneys but using (marijuana) as a beneficial factor as an athlete, a person living daily. I think a lot of times fans forget that sometimes there may be some things that are banned that may not be the greatest for playing basketball, but for everyday living off the court, sometimes those things that are legal could help us.”

It’s no longer a secret that, when appropriately used, weed can help people who are dealing with various ailments.

“My girlfriend has an autistic nephew, and you realize those properties of marijuana can do a lot of good for kids and adults,” explained Towns. “These guys, just because we’re NBA athletes, we’re not superhumans. Some of us have conditions that could use [medical marijuana] to our benefit for everyday living, just taking care of our kids and our families.”

If Silver is still apprehensive about changing the banned substance list, it’s understandable. Back in the 1970s and 80s, the NBA had a rampant cocaine problem (although, from what I’ve heard, everyone during that time was doing coke. That doesn’t make it OK, but you understand how it infiltrated locker rooms). The league nearly collapsed thanks to that coupled with other issues.

Adam Silver is the most progressive commissioner in sports. At some point, an in-depth conversation about making marijuana or its properties legal could come up because Silver’s all about the players and the ways they could maintain their body to put forth the best product.